Espada Sentenced to 5 Years for Stealing From Nonprofit

In his final hours of freedom on Friday, Pedro Espada Jr. fought the way he has for years, crying foul against his perceived persecutors, knocking his accusers with accusations of his own and eschewing all blame. It was a dizzying spectacle that constantly surprised and somehow, once again, landed him in trouble.

During a two-hour sentencing hearing in a packed courtroom, Mr. Espada, a Democrat who represented the Bronx in the State Senate, made a last-ditch effort to introduce evidence that he said proved that he had been wronged, and that the sentencing judge was guilty of misconduct. After dismissing the allegations, the judge, Frederic Block, sentenced him to five years in prison for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from a health care network he ran.

The sentence was supposed to bring an end to a case that had become one of the most notorious examples of corruption in Albany. But instead, Mr. Espada found himself the target of another investigation, as Judge Block asked the United States attorney to review his most recent conduct.

Then Judge Block ordered Mr. Espada directly to jail, denying him the days that he usually provides to defendants to get their affairs in order.

“I can’t trust him,” Judge Block said in Federal District Court in Brooklyn.

Federal marshals led Mr. Espada out of the courtroom through the prisoner’s exit. His last goodbye — a kiss blown off two fingers toward his family; then, a peace sign.

The case began with an investigation initiated by Andrew M. Cuomo, then the state attorney general. After a six-week trial last year, Mr. Espada was convicted of stealing from the accounts of Soundview Health Center, a group of nonprofit clinics in the Bronx he founded, to pay for fine meals, parties, luxury cars and spa treatments for his family.

The jury deliberated for two weeks before convicting him of four counts of theft. They were unable to reach a consensus on several other charges, including additional counts of theft, fraud and conspiracy. Mr. Espada later pleaded guilty to tax evasion to resolve the case.

It was the dissension on the jury that Mr. Espada highlighted in the days leading up to his sentencing. In a move that was both bizarre and bold, he accused Judge Block of tampering with the jurors before they reached a verdict and asked for a new trial. As evidence, he provided what he said were transcripts of jurors’ describing Judge Block entering the jury room in the moments before the verdict.

Judge Block, supported by prosecutors, said he was at home at that time. But Mr. Espada, over the objections of his own lawyer, continued to charge that the judge had been at the courthouse and filed an affidavit from one juror, Luis Roman, swearing that Judge Block had entered the room.

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Pedro Espada Jr. arrived at Brooklyn Federal Court on Friday.CreditRobert Stolarik for The New York Times

On Friday, Judge Block delayed the sentencing to address the allegations. He rebutted the charge with evidence of his own: phone records showing that he was at home, and logs from his electronic access card that showed when he entered the building.

“There is so simply no way I could have spoken to the jurors between the time they arrived and the time they reached their verdict,” he said.

Then Judge Block announced that he had asked prosecutors to determine whether any action should be taken against Mr. Roman and Mr. Espada for submitting a false affidavit.

Mr. Espada was ordered to forfeit more than $368,000 to the government, pay the same amount to victims who have not yet been determined and pay more than $100,000 to the Internal Revenue Service.

The day before the hearing Mr. Espada visited his mother in her apartment in the Bronx, to tell her he might be going to prison for a while.

There in her tidy living room, dressed in sweats and sneakers, he talked about the family he would be leaving behind and about the circularity of his life.

Once again he recounted his personal story: rising from a youth that included years of homelessness to climb to the highest ranks of state government, serving as the leader of the Senate before he was indicted. “There’s no way there’s a chapter in this story that includes me going to jail,” Mr. Espada said. “It’s surreal. Not a part of my plan or my script.”

Outside the courthouse on Friday, after the hearing concluded, the news media swarmed even without Mr. Espada. When Judge Block left the courtroom, he seemed to enjoy the attention, remarking that he had worn his best suit for the occasion.

Loretta E. Lynch, the United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York, concluded the day with a news conference, calling Mr. Espada “a thief in a suit.”

“Pedro Espada Jr. could have chosen the high road,” she said. “Every time he had a choice, Pedro Espada chose himself.”

Correction:June 14, 2013

Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article misstated in one instance the surname of the former New York State senator sentenced to five years in prison. He is Pedro Espada Jr., not Estrada.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A16 of the New York edition with the headline: Ex-Legislator Guilty of Theft Gets 5-Year Prison Sentence. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe